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No. 1 Kansas escapes Western Kentucky's upset bid

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jeff Withey scored 17 points and top-seeded Kansas struggled to put away scrappy Western Kentucky in a 64-57 victory Friday night that avoided what would have been the biggest upset on

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Twenty-nine years. One hundred sixteen tries. And still, a 16th seed hasn't been able to take down a No. 1 in the NCAA tournament.

Exhale, Kansas.

Seven-footer Jeff Withey lifted the Jayhawks from the crosshairs Friday night, piling up 17 points, six rebounds and seven blocks in a breathless 64-57 victory over Western Kentucky that epitomized this parity-dominated season.

The Hilltoppers led into the second half. Only grudgingly did they then give ground, falling behind by as many as 11 points, then clawing back within striking distance of the Big 12 Conference champion.

But first, Withey held them off. And Naadir Tharpe, Ben McLemore, then Tharpe again hit six free throws without a miss in the final 50 seconds to finish them off.

Withey collected five of his blocked shots in the second half. He scored seven of his points in a critical five-plus-minute stretch midway through the half in which Kansas — the top seed in the tournament's South Regional — stretched a tenuous four-point lead to 10, then 11 with 3:08 left.

"He's a second-team All-American for a reason," Western Kentucky coach Ray Harper said.

It capped a wholly memorable day in Kansas City. Two other double-digit seeds — No. 12 Mississippi and No. 13 La Salle — advanced in the West Regional with wins over Wisconsin and Kansas State, respectively.

Western Kentucky hadn't beaten a ranked opponent in more than three years and, in 22 previous NCAA appearances, had gone 0-for-4 against No. 1 seeds. In Kansas, however, the Sun Belt champion Hilltoppers went against a Goliath with a troubled tournament past.

It was Kansas that fell to 14th-seeded Bucknell in the first round in 2005, to 13th-seeded Bradley a year later, to ninth-seeded Northern Iowa — when the Jayhawks were No. 1 — in the second round in 2010, to streaking 11th-seeded VCU in the 2011 Southwest Regional final in San Antonio.

South Regional (Philadelphia): Eric McKnight, right, and the Eagles won in their first-ever NCAA tournament game. Otto Porter Jr. and the Hoyas lost to a double-digit seed for the fifth straight year.
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South Regional (Kansas City): Jamal Crook drives to the bucket for two of his team-high 13 points for Western Kentucky, who stuck around until Kansas hit a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left.
Peter G. Aiken, USA TODAY Sports

South Regional (Kansas City): Darrun Hilliard (4) had 20 points to help the No. 9 seed Wildcats fight back from a 20-point deficit, but they could not overcome the No. 8 Tar Heels.
Peter G. Aiken, USA TODAY Sports

South Regional (Austin): Kenny Boynton, right, became the second player in Florida history with 2,000 career points in the No. 3 seed Gators' 79-47 win over No. 14 seed Northwestern State.
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South Regional (Austin): Will Yeguete (15) and Florida shut down Gary Roberson (34) and Northwestern State, who came into the game as the highest-scoring team in the nation.
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South Regional (Austin): Kyle Anderson (5) pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for UCLA, but the Bruins shot just 31.7% from the field, including 4-of-22 from three-point range.
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East Regional (Dayton): The Dukes were no match for the Hoosiers. Cody Zeller had 11 points and four rebounds, while Andre Nation, right, had a game-high 24 points for JMU.
Frank Victores, USA TODAY Sports

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Kansas was playing Friday just 20 minutes from its campus, in front of a blue-hued crowd of 18,488 in Kansas City's Sprint Center, but coach Bill Self suggested afterward that may have worked against the Jayhawks.

"There was a little bit of different feel in the locker room. ... We were a little tight," he said. "Sometimes, playing at home, I think, puts more pressure on you in certain ways than maybe getting away. So we didn't respond too well to the advantages we had."

Ultimately, "we played the way that we had to play if we're going to be poor offensively. (That) was to get the ball inside and get to the free throw line in the second half."

Western Kentucky (20-16) came at Kansas with an underdog's abandon and a fierce pressure defense that all but took the perimeter away from the Jayhawks and made the interior a battleground. Kansas missed all five of its three-point attempts in the first half, which ended with the Jayhawks trailing 31-30, and put up just one more in the final 20 minutes.

Inside, the Hilltoppers collapsed and slapped and contested every Kansas intrusion. Forward George Fant fouled out with a little more than 5½ minutes left. Their lone big man, 6-10 freshman Aleksejs Rostov, played the final nine-plus minutes with four fouls.

But Kansas finally was able to scratch out a lead in the opening minutes of the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 points — the last a jumper behind the foul line by Withey.

The Jayhawks moved up by 53-42 on consecutive drives by McLemore and Withey, then held on for dear life. Western Kentucky pushed back — within six on two free throws by Jamal Crook, within five on a trey by T.J. Price, within four with 25.4 seconds left on another three-pointer by Brandon Harris.

That was as far as the Hilltoppers could get.

"It's not frustrating," Harper said of the near-miss. "I mean, it was unfortunate, but it's part of basketball. Our kids did everything they needed to do to put themselves in a position to try to win the basketball game. As a coach, that's all you can ask."

Crook finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for Western Kentucky, Price with 12 points and seven rebounds — two guards willing to mix it up with the bigger Jayhawks inside.

Kansas (30-5) advanced to one of the marquee games of the tournament's third round Sunday against eighth-seeded North Carolina — and Tar Heels coach Roy Williams, who started a Hall of Fame head coaching career at Kansas.

"I think personally it's just part of human nature to kind of not be as prepared for a smaller team," said Elijah Johnson, the Jayhawks' senior point guard. "But a North Carolina-Kansas game, I think everybody comes ready to play. There's going to be so much juice in the building. Roy is coming back. There's going to be a lot of fans pumped up. We'll be pumped up.

"We got the first one out of the way ... so we're a little looser now. I think it will be a different attitude in the locker room before the game."

A Michigan Wolverines cheerleader performs during the first half of the championship game in the 2013 NCAA mens Final Four against the Louisville Cardinals at the Georgia Dome.
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Michigan Wolverines cheerleaders perform during a time-out in the first half against the Florida Gators during the South regional final of the 2013 NCAA tournament at Cowboys Stadium.
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A Florida Gators cheerleader performs in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines during the South Regional final of the 2013 NCAA tournament at Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
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La Salle Explorers cheerleaders perform before the first half of the semifinals of the West regional of the 2013 NCAA tournament against the Wichita State Shockers at the Staples.
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La Salle Explorers cheerleaders entertain the crowd in the first half of the game against the Mississippi Rebels during the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament at the Sprint Center. La Salle won 76-74.
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Mississippi Rebels cheerleaders entertain the crowd during a timeout in the first half of the game against the La Salle Explorers during the third round of the NCAA basketball tournament at the Sprint Center. La Salle won 76-74.
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A cheerleader for the Virginia Commonwealth Rams perfoms in the first half of the team's third-round game against the Michigan Wolverines at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
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An Indiana Hoosiers cheerleader performs during the team's second-round game with the James Madison Dukes at University of Dayton Arena. Indiana defeated James Madison 83-62.
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La Salle Explorers cheerleaders perform for the crowd during a timeout in the first half of Friday's second -round game against the Kansas State Wildcats at the Sprint Center. La Salle won 63-61.
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Cincinnati Bearcats cheerleaders perform during the second half of their second-round game against the Creighton Bluejays at the Wells Fargo Center. Creighton defeated Cincinnati 67-63.
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A Creighton Bluejays cheerleader performs on the court while the Bluejays take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in a second-round match-up at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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A Colorado State Rams cheerleader performs in the second half of the Rams' second-round game against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena on Thursday. Colorado State defeated 84-72.
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South Dakota State Jackrabbits cheerleaders cheer on team in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines during the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at The Palace.
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A North Carolina A&T Aggies cheerleader in the first half of the game against the Louisville Cardinals during the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at Rupp Arena. Marquette defeated Davidson 59-58.
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Arizona Wildcats cheerleaders perform in the second half of the game against the Belmont Bruins during the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at EnergySolutions Arena.
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A member of the Southern University Jaguars cheerleaders performs in the second half of the second-round game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at EnergySolutions Arena. Gonzaga won the game 64-58.
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The Gonzaga Bulldogs cheerleaders perform during the second half of a second-round game against the Southern University Jaguars at EnergySolutions Arena. Gonzaga won the game 64-58.
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A St. Mary's Gaels cheerleader performs a cheer during a game against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders during the first round of the 2013 NCAA tournament at University of Dayton Arena.
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A Western Kentucky cheerleader performs during the Sun Belt championship game on March 11. The HIlltoppers won the game against FIU 65-63 to secure an NCAA tournament berth.
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